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The Macedonian Empire was an ancient empire with a history of tens of thousands of years. Naturally, cases where the reigning emperor passed away before the heir grew up were not unheard of. Therefore, to support the young heir to the throne, the special position of a regent appeared.

There was no specific criteria to select a candidate to assume the role of a regent. It could be the late emperor’s sibling, but it could also be a high-ranking duke or general. No matter who it was, the regent would be granted supreme authority comparable to that of an emperor during their reign without an exception.

With power came greed, and greed in the depths of the human heart knew no bound. After learning the intoxicating taste of power, most would reach their claws out to a bigger slice of that cake.

A regent was only a regent at the end of the day. People who had tasted a piece of that cake called power would still crave for more. Even if they held power comparable to that of an emperor, they would still fear having it inevitably taken away from them one day.

Therefore in the long history of the empire, there had been precedents of power-hungry regents usurping the throne and replacing the rightful heir, who had yet to reach the coming of age, as the new emperor.

In order to avoid repeating the same mistake of losing the royal authority to unrightful candidates, one of the previous emperors created a system to ensure the balance of power and ordered his descendants to maintain it. This was why the three dukes of the empire could overturn a regent’s decree.

It was at this moment, Lesiah understood why these old guys would act so brazenly. To be more precise, this system created to ensure balance of power not only became the biggest obstacle that prevented her from making certain decisions over the years, but also became the most powerful shield for the three old dukes.

It went without saying that Lesiah was well aware of all the things that those three old guys had done over the years.

How could she possibly be blind to their notoriety in the capital city, when it had already reached the point where it could stop children from crying at night?

Unfortunately, her hands were tied.

Although the three dukes usually worked independently, they would immediately band together against Lesiah if she tried interfering with their core interests and use this rule to cancel any decrees Lesiah issued against them.

This was also the reason they did not want a new emperor to take the throne, even if that new emperor was a mere seven-year-old girl. After all, the birth of a new emperor meant they would lose their immunity to decrees and freedom to do as they pleased.

“What a pity, Your Highness. Now that the previous emperor is no longer here, it is our duty to watch over you and keep you from making foolish decisions.”

Lord Augustus snickered. He was sure that Lesiah had nothing up her sleeve to counter them, so he no longer bothered to put up the act of a good guy and exposed his ruthless side.

“Your Highness should just go back to being a good crown princess. You’d best hurry to find a husband and produce a real heir to the throne soon. Of course, if Your Highness cannot find a suitable candidate, I can always suggest one or two.”

Lesiah clenched her fists but maintained a neutral expression on her face as she said, “There are three dukes in this empire, only two are here. Lord Augustus, I wonder where did you get your confidence from when the third duke is absent?”

“Haha. As naive as ever, Your Highness.” Lord Augustus covered his face and laughed like he had just heard the funniest joke in the world. The fats on his body even jiggled as he laughed.

“Although that old b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲, Gregory, has not expressed his opinion, I’m sure we all know what his thoughts on this are, don’t we? I heard some rather interesting news about his family recently, so I’m guessing he hasn’t shown his face here today because of it.”
“……”

Lesiah’s face darkened. Although Lord Augustus made her want to kill him so badly, Lesiah knew that she did not have any means to break the current situation if the dukes were challenging her decisions through means within the rules.

Gregory would undoubtedly side with the two of them, so this ascension ceremony could only be considered a farce since it was never completed.

Maybe she should just… let Lilith secretly assassinate all of these old guys.

Lesiah could not help but think to herself.

“Oh, speak of the devil! I see that an old man like you can’t bear to sit still either, unlike a certain cowardly turtle who only dares to watch from afar.

Lord Ryland’s right-hand man pushed his monocle up his nose and merely looked at the man who had just arrived on the scene in silence.

That person was none other than Lord Gregory himself.

“Haha. You ignored my invitation to join me before this but in the end, you still got worried and ended up showing up here.”

Lord Augustus rested his hand on Lord Gregory’s shoulder and continued teasing him, “I heard things had been chaotic at home for you. Do you want me to find you some chicks to entertain you?”

“……”

Lord Augustus was quite surprised by Lord Gregory’s silence and said, “Hmm? Not talking? It’s hard to believe that a thick-skinned old man like you would feel ashamed of what happened.”

“……”

Lord Ryland’s right-hand man swept his sharp gaze over Lord Gregory and his expression slowly turned serious.

“Wait, Lord Augustus. Something isn’t right.”

Lord Gregory was standing in front of them, but he could not feel any life in him. He looked like he was staring into space and his movements. He looked almost like…

A puppet?

“Something is wrong? What’s wrong?”

Lord Augustus did not notice anything unusual about Lord Gregory, so he did not heed the warning from Lord Ryland’s right-hand man. He moved his hand from Lord Gregory’s shoulder and started rubbing circles on his back.

Then…

“Get out of the way…”

A hoarse, demonic voice came out of Lord Gregory, chilling everyone to the bone.

Lord Augustus was startled too. He instinctively backed up a few steps, but it was already too late. The hand he placed on Lord Gregory’s back suddenly exploded. Blood splattered everywhere.

“GWAAAAH!!! W-WHAT…? MY HAND! MY HAND…!”

Lord Augustus rolled all over the ground in pain.

Lord Gregory moved forward stiffly, but bizarrely did not make any sound.

He came in front of Lord Augustus, lifted his foot right above Lord Augustus’ bald head…

“Wait… You… What are you doing?!”

Lord Augustus must have realized his fate. He was literally scared s̲h̲i̲t̲l̲e̲s̲s̲ as he bawled in fear.

However, it was no use.

Lord Gregory stomped on his head.

The crowd instantly fell so silent that one could hear a pin drop.

“Ah…!”

Lord Ryland’s right-hand man fell to the ground in fear and frantically backed up, trying to distance himself from this madman.

The shock that he experienced from the blood rain from earlier was nothing compared to witnessing such a gore scene that just happened in front of his eyes.

The good thing was Lord Gregory seemed like he was done with killing. He stiffly turned his head and rested his gaze on Lesiah.

His cold gaze was devoid of the slightest bit of life. It did not even look like it belonged to a living person.

“You…”

Lesiah unconsciously trembled under Gregory’s cold gaze. She felt like she was trapped in ice, facing the fear of death. It was at this moment, she realized that this person’s target was her.

“YOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU AREEEEEEEEEEEE GUILTYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!”

Lord Gregory twisted his body. His teeth chattered loudly as he squeezed out the most unpleasant voice from his throat. His eyes turned bloodshot and rolled independently in all different directions like a chameleon. He looked more like a monster than a human.

Then Gregory vanished.

The look on Lesiah’s face turned unpleasant.

Fortunately, the maids and knights on the scene were alert. They quickly created a defensive magic barrier to protect Lesiah.

When Lord Gregory reappeared, he was just right outside the barrier. He kept banging his head against it fiercely, with a crazed grin on his face.

“You… can’t run away.”

Lesiah’s pupils shrank in shock, because she saw Lord Gregory’s face cracking like a porcelain vase. Then, a strong light burst through the gaps.

The palace square, which was dimly lit due to the huge floating fish corpse blocking the sunlight, was now as bright as day.